How does Ms. Pirro know this? She produced the memowritten by Ice’s “top dog”, John Morton, to field office directors and all special agents, providing guidance to on when to issue detainers against illegal immigrants charged with crimes.

persons charged with assault, DWI, unlawful flight from the scene of an accident

drug distribution or trafficking

sexual abuse or exploitation

In addition, an ICE hold can only be placed on a person who appears subject to removal or deportation. There are others who may be subject to ICE holds, including persons who have been previously deported or convicted of illegal entry.

There are, however, some notable exceptions to the list of persons subject to ICE holds.

Notable exceptions: Persons not subject to ICE detainers

First, ICE may not place holds or detainers on persons charged with minor misdemeanors or traffic violations, as long as they have a clean immigration history. Thus, a person arrested for littering, with no previous deportation order, is not subject to an ICE hold.

Second, a person charged with misdemeanor drug possession, with no allegation of distribution or trafficking, is also not subject to an ICE detainer. This category will include thousands of non-citizens charged every day for possession of small amounts of marijuana.

Pirro offered her own theory as to what’s going on. “This release plan was hatched and acted on even before the mandated cuts were signed into law – it’s part of what I call the Obama Amnesty Program.”

She played a clip of Napolitano complaining that she can’t pay for the beds of so many illegal immigrants, because — sequester.

At the end of this year, it’s estimated that they will have a carry over of nine billion dollars. How about the 70 million you have in unobligated user fee balances?

And I have an idea…How about you reduce staff bonuses and performance awards. How about you spend those unspent funds from state and local grant programs instead of releasing criminals. How about you NOT spend money on ridiculous things like that $98,000 for an underwater robot for Columbus OH, where there are no major rivers and few lakes near by. And that $24,000 for a latrine on wheels in Ft. Worth Tx, and by the way if you release those detainees, make me feel better – give them a bill for those transgender hormone treatments, those new teeth and those abortions they had while in our custody.”

…”But no problem! – These criminals are going to voluntarily come back to face their own deportation – the same ones who snuck into the country and have been determined to be a danger to the rest of us. Hope springs eternal, doesn’t it?”

She had Iowa Congressman Steven King and Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu on to talk about the issue.

King said that he would like to get John Morton to appear before the House Judiciary hearings to explain the prison releases.

Some of the detainees, Babeu noted had been “convicted not just charged – convicted for weapons violations, drug smuggling, (these are cartel members, these are narcotic traffickers!), drug dealers, these are people who have been in fights, and aggravated assaults against police officers…. How in the world can you say these are low risk, non criminal detainees?! These are the worst of the worst. These are people who have been convicted of child molestation! We have people who have been released, I’ve been told by ICE agents, who have been charged with man-slaughter.”

Pirro brought up the whistleblowers who want to come forward and expose what’s going on. But Babeu said several memos have been sent out to ICE agents about the prisoner releases – anyone who talks about it “outside our agency shall be disciplined up to and including termination, creating an atmosphere of fear and intimidation.” He said, “these federal agents, who swore an oath to protect our country, are being intimidated from doing the right thing.”